spiculum

[ spik-yuh-luhm ]

/ ˈspɪk yə ləm /

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noun, plural spic·u·la

[spik-yuh-luh]. /ˈspɪk yə lə/. Zoology.

a small, needlelike body, part, process, or the like.

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Origin of spiculum

1740–50; <Latin spīculum;see spicule

Words nearby spiculum

spick-and-span, spicula, spiculate, spiculation, spicule, spiculum, spicy, spide, spider, spider crab, spider fly

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use spiculum in a sentence

Often one single quadriradiate spiculum is distinguished by its extraordinary size.
Report on the Radiolaria Collected by H.M.S. Challenger During the Years 1873-1876, First Part: Porulosa (Spumellaria and Acantharia)|Ernst Haeckel
This surrounds the cloacal outlet, the latter concealing a double spiculum.
Parasites|T. Spencer Cobbold
The caudal extremity of the male ends in an inverted cup-like pouch, from which the penal spiculum protrudes.
A System of Practical Medicine By American Authors, Vol. II|Various
They are called spicula (spiculum, a dart), being often of a pointed form.
An Elementary Text-book of the Microscope|John William Griffith

The male is supplied with a double spiculum, its tail being always more or less curved towards the central surface.
Parasites|T. Spencer Cobbold

British Dictionary definitions for spiculum

spiculum

/ (ˈspɪkjʊləm) /

noun plural -la (-lə)

another word for spicule (def. 1)

Word Origin for spiculum

C18: from Latin: small sharp point, from spica

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

spiculum

Origin of spiculum

Words nearby spiculum

Words related to spiculum

How to use spiculum in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for spiculum

Word Origin for spiculum